The invention relates to a system, and also to a method, for mounting aircraft system components in the crown area of an aircraft.
When mounting system components in the crown area (ceiling region) of an aircraft, it is currently customary to connect components, such as, for example, electrical or electronic component parts, components of the aircraft air conditioning installation or other aircraft systems, ceiling trim panels, lighting elements and the like, to the aircraft structure individually. In a similar manner, pipelines serving, for example, as air-conducting lines belonging to the aircraft air conditioning installation or to the water supply in an aircraft cabin, as well as electrical lines, are currently also fastened to the aircraft structure individually. Since each component part has to be positioned separately and fastened to the aircraft structure sequentially, the mounting of these component parts is very time-consuming. In addition, many interfaces between the individual components and the primary structure of the aircraft are created, for which suitable adaptation of said primary structure is necessary and for which various holders have to be held in stock. Customers' individual requirements as regards the supplying and positioning of aircraft system components in the crown area of an aircraft thus have to be already taken into account in the course of assembling the structure. Furthermore, specially coordinated integration of aircraft system components which have been selected, designed or positioned in accordance with customers' specific wishes, with adjacent component parts, such as insulation packs or structural connections for example, is required.
After the mounting operation it is necessary, in the course of final inspection, to check that all the components and lines are functioning properly. In particular, all the pipelines have to be subjected to testing for freedom from leaks, while checking of all the interfaces is necessary in the case of the electrical lines. These tests likewise entail a relatively high outlay, since the lines and interfaces to be tested are often accessible only with difficulty when the lines are in the mounted condition.
In order to address these problems, DE 10 2010 055 962, which has not been previously published, proposes using, for the purpose of mounting aircraft system components in the crown area of an aircraft, a carrier module for aircraft system components which has a carrier element which is arcuate, at least in certain sections, said carrier element being arranged so as to extend, when the carrier module for aircraft system components is in the mounted condition in an aircraft, at least in certain sections substantially towards the ribs of an aircraft structure, over at least one section of a ceiling region of an aircraft cabin. The carrier module for aircraft system components further comprises a transverse carrier element which is arranged so as to extend, when the carrier module for aircraft system components is in the mounted condition in an aircraft, substantially perpendicularly to a longitudinal axis of the aircraft cabin. A structure holder serves for fastening the carrier module for aircraft system components to the aircraft structure, and at least one aircraft system component can be fastened to said carrier module for aircraft system components by means of an aircraft system components holder.
An aircraft system component which is to be mounted in the ceiling region of an aircraft cabin can be conveniently connected, outside the aircraft, to the carrier module for aircraft system components which is described in DE 10 2010 055 962. Said carrier module for aircraft system components can then be fastened, with the aircraft system components fastened to it, to the aircraft structure element of the upper shell of the aircraft fuselage in a simple and convenient manner by means of the structure holder. A standardized holder can be used as the structure holder.